As global commerce has expanded, it has become increasingly necessary to effectively transport goods from one location to a remote location that transverses over water. Containers of goods are transported inland by means of railroads, trucks, inland waterway vessels, etc. The permissible range of operation of land-bound carriers or vessels for inland navigation ends at the coast. At that point, cargo transported by inland waterway vessels must be transferred from a non-seaworthy inland vessel to a seaworthy ship. Cargo must also be loaded from land locations to the seaworthy ships.
Transportation problems compound and the risk of loss increases as the cargo becomes heavier, requiring heavy lift cranes.
A need exists for a heavy lift vessel that can carry cargo, such as heavy structures, over long distances at a high speed.
Current methods for transporting heavy structures over waterways and the open oceans incorporate the use of barges as an intermediate transport vehicle. Currently, heavy structures are transported using barges. These methods are inconvenient, time-consuming, and costly to move heavy structures from one location to another. Conventional installation vessels, such as crane barges or crane vessels, require in most cases a separate barge or heavy lift transport vessel to transport the offshore structures.
Since the use of multiple vessels and barges increases the risk of damage to the cargo and workers, a need exists for a heavy lift vessel that can self-load, transport, and install cargo in one vessel. The use of one vessel versus multiple vessels would lower insurance premiums and also provide a safer environment for both cargo and the workers on the ship.